Try this previous thread :)

Thanks for the tips and pointers to previous threads.

Actually, right now I am using a different kind of hand position on the keyboard for the colemak layout by fully resting my fingers on the home row as recommended by touch typing tutors, and for qwerty I am simply typing as I normally do (allowing my hands to freely fly all over the keyboard based on my muscle memory.) and therefore so far my brain does not seem to be confused between the layouts. But I wanted to know how long I can maintain that kind of differences once I start typing more naturally with the colemak layout. As of now the typing is still very much a conscious effort.

I have also not switched over fully to colemak for my normal work. The reason for my trying the colemak layout is its stated benefits over the qwerty layout and ease of transition compared to dvorak.

I also use Linux on a day to day basis.

Bad idea ergonomically.  Most people "float" their middle and ring fingers somewhere between the home and top row, since curling them into the home row is not so comfortable.

I can't really answer anything else since I went cold turkey and forgot all about qwerty within a week.  From what I gather, some others can type in both layouts, but of course that is more difficult and less rapid.

Though this is very uncharted territory, the transitional layouts may be another option.  These are layouts with intermediate benefits, only changing a few keys at a time in order to provide a more gradual training (as well as a buffer in case of slow progress).

I can think of two possible (and mutually exclusive) theories concerning such layouts:

1. They make it harder to switch back and forth from QWERTY - because they are so similar, they lead to more confusion when you try to do so.

2. They make it easier to switch back and forth from QWERTY - because they are so similar, you only have to consciously change a few keys.  (Though this increases as you progress to the later layouts, the progression is gradual and gives you much more time to adjust.)

This is very uncharted territory (blame the dominance of QWERTY for such a pitiful state of research) and I don't know what to believe. The person who created minimak recently emailed me, saying that it works well for his switching between it and qwerty, but the sample size is small at best.  Perhaps you can try something similar with tarmak (going very slowly so as to keep at most two layouts in your head at a time). You would definitely be a pioneer/guinea pig in doing so, however.

Thanks for the further inputs. From what I gather from different sources, I think it becomes increasingly difficult to revert to qwerty once your fingers develop the muscle memory to type in colemak. I will consider that and see if I can continue practising in colemak while still typing regularly in qwerty.

I am one of those rare people who still occasionally use a typewriter (a physical manual typewriter) and though I don't type very fast on it since I want to absolutely eliminate typing errors, it may be worth not losing the skill to use a qwerty keyboard.

Still I am probably getting too ahead of myself. Let me see how much I can improve the colemak typing speed by the practice drills (I use gtypist on Linux) and see whether that affects my qwerty typing speed. Switching completely from this stage may be a bit too much for me.

I have noticed something peculiar when I took speed test today. I first typed in qwerty and I got a speed of about 84 wpm with 0 errors. which is above my average of about 75-80 on qwerty, and then immediately shifted to colemak and tried the test and broke my earlier record and achieved a rate of 21 wpm in one minute of continuous typing which is better than what I had achieved earlier.

When I did this alternating test I found myself making slightly fewer mistakes than before, especially with colemak. The funny thing is that I can now type quite fast in colemak normally than in a typing speed tester, maybe because I am less tense and less conscious about speed. I still have frequent use for the backspace key though.

Most common problem keys in colemak for me are: m->k, d->g, p/t->f, l->u. Otherwise I am quite used to this layout now.

I shall definitely practice more and more now that I have gained a bit of comfort with colemak. I find myself making fewer mistakes and except for the problem keys mentioned above I am instinctively typing on the correct keys. Sometimes though I pause to think a bit but I think that will also reduce over time. Overall compared to the first few days I am gaining accuracy with the commonly used keys.

I have discovered something radical. I am actually learning touch typing only with the colemak layout whereas I use a three fingered method with the qwerty layout where my hand moves freely across the surface of the board and automatically presses the right keys with the nearest finger. Most of my typing is done with the middle and index finger of both hands with the ring finger coming a poor third. This means that my muscle memory for qwerty is completely different from touch typing in the first place.

What I have found is that I don't find qwerty that awkward as I don't use touch typing and I think most of the analysis for qwerty is based on the usage of fingers with the touch typing method which I don't use anyway. I have never used my little finger before for typing and suddenly using it for touch typing on the colemak has made it somewhat sore.

Moreover I hate resting my fingers on the home row or even hover somewhere in the region because my hands have got so used to rapid movements from position to position which the qwerty layout has probably taught me to adopt as my style. This means that even though I use qwerty the common disadvantages of touch typing qwerty do not apply to me because I don't touch type and my hands move to accommodate my finger reach. I am not sure what drawbacks this technique has but so far I have been using it all my typing life.

This may be one reason why I am finding touch-typing awkward. Even on a colemak, because I am simply not used to using my little finger at all for typing and suddenly using a touch typing tutor has forced this on me. To me touch typing feels quite awkward and rigid and not at all natural. But most analysis of keyboard layouts seem to make that assumption of touch typing as the basis for hand and finger strain.

Maybe I have got into bad typing habits from childhood. But I am more comfortable not at all using my little finger at all for typing and would rather move my hands slightly from time to time rather than utilize that finger. If somebody could point out to any research that says this is bad for the hands, please encourage me to continue learning to touch type on the colemak layout.

Umm, requiring medical research to overturn an unjustified habit is a good way of ensuring you will never change that habit.  In particular, you won't realistically find research saying "oh, harishankar's particular hunt-and-peck technique wherein you use mostly the index and middle finger, occasionally the ring finger, and never the pinkie finger?  Yeah, we did a study with 500 participants and found it to be disadvantageous to the wrists."  Ergonomics research is sparse as it is.

That said, there are several different ways we can try to accommodate that habit:

1. Most straightforward: stick with colemak, but don't use pinkies for most any key.  Here's a sample of my finger chart, for instance (ignore the symbols, concentrate on the colors):

   

   As you can see, most keys canonically used by the pinkie are instead pressed with the ring.  The only "common keys" my pinkies still press are those on the home row - this can eventually help in strengthening them.  Ring finger use for this option may not be as sparse as you're used to, but it should be relatively manageable (it's a reasonably strong finger, anyway).

2. Go for a layout (or better yet, create your own) that optimizes for your current style.  As a first-order optimization, you'd want to put rare keys on the pinkie slots (so that you'd less often have to move there) and common ones all around the middle (since they're easy for your index finger to reach).  The ones closest to this goal that I know of are QFMLWY or QGMLWB:

   

        

   though you could still improve them by swapping the pinkie keys with a less common key.  Because swapping sometimes has unintentional side effects, you might prefer QFMLWY, where you'd only have to swap the D, as a base.  Alternatively, just call D/H "uncommon enough" and keep as it is.

   -

   A second-order optimization might be for common digraphs to be right next to one another, so that you could quickly hit them with your index and middle.  Unfortunately, this would probably require designing a completely new layout, and is beyond the scope of my knowledge.

3. Middle ground: Touchtype using QFMLWY or QGMLWB.  (Incidentally, those two are  the "optimized" layouts according to carplax, so might be good to have under your sleeve anyway.)

4. One-handed dvorak should decrease the side-by-side distance required.  Not sure what side-effects it might have, however.

   

All in all, I'd prefer #1 as the more "balanced" way to start practicing the pinkies.  If the O or A prove too much, you can try for #3 instead.

Finally, even if you do stick with your current typing habit, that doesn't mean you have to stick with QWERTY.  Indeed, it has the very common A under the left-pinkie finger, a disadvantage for your style compared to QFMLWY or QGMLWB.

Pinkie soreness is to be expected, similarly for any muscles you haven't exercised before.  The forearm, I'm not sure what to make of it. I don't really have knowledge of ergonomics (unlike many of the other posters, I just use crappy laptop keyboard in whatever positions), but it seems to me that the reduced movement should only help your arm.

It's a shot in the dark, but the only question that comes to mind is: are you resting your wrists?

No idea.  It's a shot in the dark.  Like I said, I know nothing about ergonomics.

You've made a good choice. Blue switch is best for typing.

He took the first step towards the ergo's.

P.S.
The clacks of Model M and the blues are only for real men. :D